"Granny" Franklin's boys killed

No it's page 126 and 127 of the torture of the women hiding their menfolk who are mossbacks.
Leftyhunter
Not in my book (1988 softcover) on pages 126-127. Mossbacks? Home Guards? Not Home Guards - regular Confederate troops. Torture of women is Chapter 21 pages 227-230. Trotter only gives two notes for this chapter - both sources are Paludan's Victims. Chapter 21 is basically re-write of Paludan pages 94-96. What were Paludan's sources for torture? 1. Memphis Bulletin (whose source was Col. Robert A. Crawford, a unionist in east TN). Crawford's source was a "trustworthy person and written down on the spot." 2. New York Times (and numerous other northern papers) source was the Memphis Bulletin. 3. Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis. Ellis source was an unidentifed informant. So all the sources for all the detailed torture come from the Union perspective. Grain of salt please - but I feel sure it would have played out same way if roles switched. One thing for sure is Lt. Col. Keith ordered that some women be whipped - he admitted to that. Guess you can tell by now I'm all about the SOURCE.
 
Slagle in his research cites the relationship between Keith, Allen,Vance and Merrimon. Most interesting the legal dealings.
I wonder if there is any validity to the story of Pete McCoy and his specially made" man killing" gun hunting down members of the 64th?
 
I found this story below in an older closed thread, and must make corrections to it:


" 'In the late summer of 1864, Colonel George W. Kirk's men were coming over the Tennessee-North Carolina border at will, roaming the wilds of the Carolina border counties, stealing from and terrorizing anyone suspected of Confederate sympathies. In Madison County, pro-Confederate citizens were by this time a minority, but once you got beyond the hardcore Unionists areas such as Shelton Laurel, there were a goodly number of them.

One Madison County inhabitant reputed to be a Confederate was Nance “Granny” Franklin, a widow with four sons, the youngest of whom, Josiah, was 15 in 1864. None of Granny Franklin's sons had actually joined the Confederate Army but had been known to joined pro-confederate bands that had gone out, sometimes into neighboring Counties, to bushwack Unionists—including, on occasion some of Colonel Kirk's men. Now Kirk's men decided it was time to make a pay-back call on Granny Franklin and her boys.

It was typical of the confused and tangled loyalties of the region that, although Granny Franklin had four sons that sniped for the rebel side, she herself was inclined for the Union side... at least, until Kirk's Unionist's paid her a visit. The boys were hopelessly outgunned, however, and return fire from the guerrillas

Three of her four boys were home that day. When they saw the blue-bellies dismounting in the trees around their cabin, they knew instantly what was about to happen. All three grabbed their rifles, ran outside, took up positions near the cabin and opened fire, wounding a couple of Yankees guerrillas. Spencer repeaters blasted clouds of wood chips all around them and fatally both James and Balus.

Young Josiah seeing him about to be outflanked dove under the cabin and reloaded. He could see the booted feet of Kirk's men as they cautiously approached the house. They were coming for him and he knew it. He fought them like a cornered mink. Two of the guerrillas crawled under the cabin to get the boy and he shot them both dead.

Now it looked like a stand-off. Nance Franklin screamed was screaming wildly as Kirk's men pinioned her arms and forced her to watch her two eldest boys bleed to death in their own front yard. Now she also had to watch as several men ran up with pine not torches and set fire to the cabin. Granny Franklin twisted like a madwoman in her captor's arms, and for an instant, she almost broke loose. One of Kirk's men fired a pistol at her head but only succeeded in clipping off a lock of her hair. Death would not release her, on that day, from one last horror.

Young Josiah stood the flames and smoke as long as he could, then bolted, his clothes smoking, from beneath the flaming cabin. He flew right into a knot of waiting Yankees, some of whom were guffawing obscenely at his plight. The boy fell. One of Kirk's men stepped up, swung his rifle like a club, and crushed the boy's skull. His mother watched while his brains spilled out onto the ground like the contents of a cracked egg.

There was no need to hold Mrs. Franklin now. She stood like a statue, three dead sons at her feet and her home burning to ashes, while the raiders remounted and rode away, congratulating themselves on having administered a salutary lesson to all Confederate bushwhackers in the area.'

William R. Trotter, Bushwhackers, The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains, pp. 135-136."

That's a great story, but he just got some "facts" wrong. What were his sources? None listed - but it is evident he had read the story in Wellman's "The Kingdom of Madison" which was based on oral tradition. From PRIMARY sources (military service and pension records, census records, and a letter from a Confederate at the scene), we learn Nance's full name was Nancy Shelton Norton Franklin. Her first husband, Drury Norton, was killed in 1854 and she then married George Franklin, who was living at the time the boys were killed (Sept. 27, 1864). Nancy was not a pro-Confederate. Her sons by Drury Norton were George, James, Bailus, and Josiah Norton. All 4 had at one time or another joined the 2nd or 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (George W. Kirk's Union Army units). They were not bushwhacking Kirk's men - they WERE Kirk's men. Nancy and her son George Norton were not present when the boys were killed. Confederates, Major Charles M. Roberts of the 14th NC Battalion and Robert Clouse were wounded that day, and Roberts died a day later.

nancy norton pension.png
 
Service records on Fold3. Do you subscribe? If not, when I get a chance, I'll look again.

I have partial records for the documented 1636 men who served in a Union units from one of the twenty-one North Carolina mountain counties.

Information given: county from, name, company and unit designation, and date of enlistment. Included are North Carolina and North Carolinians serving in other states, US army regulars, and the US Navy.

Terrel T. Garren, Mountain Myth, Unionism in Western North Carolina.

Garren's thesis isn't that there wasn't unionism in the NC mountains but that it has been grossly exaggerated.
 
I have partial records for the documented 1636 men who served in a Union units from one of the twenty-one North Carolina mountain counties.

Information given: county from, name, company and unit designation, and date of enlistment. Included are North Carolina and North Carolinians serving in other states, US army regulars, and the US Navy.

Terrel T. Garren, Mountain Myth, Unionism in Western North Carolina.

Garren's thesis isn't that there wasn't unionism in the NC mountains but that it has been grossly exaggerated.
That's a book I've been wanting to read. Based on my own Western NC ancestors, I certainly have Unionists in the family, but there's definitely a pattern in that they are all from one county and they were all initially Confederates. In fact, they're all former 64th NC from Madison County, and I've sometimes wondered if the Shelton Laurel Massacre was a big factor in their decision to change sides.
 
That's a book I've been wanting to read. Based on my own Western NC ancestors, I certainly have Unionists in the family, but there's definitely a pattern in that they are all from one county and they were all initially Confederates. In fact, they're all former 64th NC from Madison County, and I've sometimes wondered if the Shelton Laurel Massacre was a big factor in their decision to change sides.

There certainly was a lot of hate in Madison County on all sides. The 1863 raid on Marshall by unionists made worse by them breaking into the home of a Confederate colonel home whose children lay deathly ill of scarlet fever, followed shortly afterward by the Shelton Laurel Massacre. Then the killing of Granny Franklin's sons a year later in the same area of the county.

An interesting account of the later in a family history.
Scroll down to page 159.
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/SheltonCIVP151.htm

 
That's a book I've been wanting to read. Based on my own Western NC ancestors, I certainly have Unionists in the family, but there's definitely a pattern in that they are all from one county and they were all initially Confederates. In fact, they're all former 64th NC from Madison County, and I've sometimes wondered if the Shelton Laurel Massacre was a big factor in their decision to change sides.

Welcome back Zella ! I've always believed conscription was the Confederacy's worst enemy in the upper south. I know it created a lot of committed Unionists and rock-ribbed Republicans from folks that were at least neutral at the beginning in east Tennessee.
 
There certainly was a lot of hate in Madison County on all sides. The 1863 raid on Marshall by unionists made worse by them breaking into the home of a Confederate colonel home whose children lay deathly ill of scarlet fever, followed shortly afterward by the Shelton Laurel Massacre. Then the killing of Granny Franklin's sons a year later in the same area of the county.

An interesting account of the later in a family history.
Scroll down to page 159.
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/SheltonCIVP151.htm

Yes the treatment of that family during the raid was terrible! There was a lot of bad behavior in Madison County during the war, which my family was more than happy to participate in. . . .
Welcome back Zella ! I've always believed conscription was the Confederacy's worst enemy in the upper south. I know it created a lot of committed Unionists and rock-ribbed Republicans from folks that were at least neutral at the beginning in east Tennessee.
Yes I agree! And thank you, Glenn! I'm glad to be back, even if my participation is still a bit spotty. :smile:
 
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Slagle in his research cites the relationship between Keith, Allen,Vance and Merrimon. Most interesting the legal dealings.
I wonder if there is any validity to the story of Pete McCoy and his specially made" man killing" gun hunting down members of the 64th?
Probably SOME truth to the story(ies), which have been passed down through oral tradition, but once again, no documented evidence of the time found yet.
 
That's a book I've been wanting to read. Based on my own Western NC ancestors, I certainly have Unionists in the family, but there's definitely a pattern in that they are all from one county and they were all initially Confederates. In fact, they're all former 64th NC from Madison County, and I've sometimes wondered if the Shelton Laurel Massacre was a big factor in their decision to change sides.
I would bet yes. Conscription was a major factor too. I think many men were forced into the 64 in spring/summer of 1862. Lots of them had deserted by November/December 1862. Some of those deserters were killed January 19, 1863 (massacre).
 
Some of Slagle's claims have always seemed exaggerated to me, though I must admit I cant remember now which ones I was suspicious of! :D

Will have to track down my notes.

By the way, welcome Madisonman! I've been away a few weeks, so you're a new face. But I'm always pleased to see all the folks on here interested in western North Carolina during the war. :smile:
 
I would bet yes. Conscription was a major factor too. I think many men were forced into the 64 in spring/summer of 1862. Lots of them had deserted by November/December 1862. Some of those deserters were killed January 19, 1863 (massacre).
Yes most of my family was conscripted. Most of them lasted until 1863 or 1864 before deserting, with some changing sides and others just going home. I have only found one western nc ancestor who enlisted early in the war and stayed for the duration without changing sides. He was an officer in the 64th. His brothers served out the remainder of the war on the other side after deserting and another brother spent a large chunk of the war as a POW.
 
There certainly was a lot of hate in Madison County on all sides. The 1863 raid on Marshall by unionists made worse by them breaking into the home of a Confederate colonel home whose children lay deathly ill of scarlet fever, followed shortly afterward by the Shelton Laurel Massacre. Then the killing of Granny Franklin's sons a year later in the same area of the county.

An interesting account of the later in a family history.
Scroll down to page 159.
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/SheltonCIVP151.htm
The link above is a great work by Arthur Paul Shelton dated 1987. What were his sources for the Norton boys being killed and the massacre? Wellman's The Kingdom of Madison and Paludan's Victims. Below is a short article running down sources:

September 9, 2004

For Madison County, NC Genealogical Society newsletter:



Greetings fellow researchers! I hope this newsletter finds you all doing well. Writing a little column for this publication is just about one of the hardest things for me to do. What do I write about? Last night's browsing a few genealogy pages on the internet answered that question for me.



How many of us, while researching our families, have come across some great family information we had never seen or heard before? The information could have come from a book, newspaper article, census record, birth or death record, family tradition story, or any other source--- and it fit in exactly with what we would have expected. We included this great find in our genealogy! But wait! Did we consider that this new and exciting piece of information might not be true or accurate? It probably cannot be stressed enough that we should always try to verify the accuracy of what we find. We should always strive to identify the source of the information, and even further than that; we should consider what the background, knowledge, and intent was of the author. If we do a little diggin', we just may find that the story is not quite as accurate as we had thought. One good example follows.



There is a story of widow Nance Franklin and her sons in THE KINGDOM OF MADISON: A SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN FASTNESS AND ITS PEOPLE,by Manly Wade Wellman, 1973. According to the story, three of Nance's sons, Balus, James, and Josiah Franklin were Confederate sympathizers, at home with their mother, when they were killed by George Kirk's Union men in 1864. Before Josiah's death, he had killed two of the "bluecoats". One of the soldiers even fired a shot toward Nance, and "his bullet snipped a lock of her flying hair." The Union soldiers also burned Nance Franklin's home. Manly's sources of the event were oral tradition, "widespread and consistent." He names as sources; Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Obray Ramsey, Mrs. Rilla Ray, and Byard Ray.



We find basically the same story in BUSHWHACKERS: THE CIVIL WAR IN NORTH CAROLINA-THE MOUNTAINS, by William R. Trotter, 1988. Trotter does not give his source for this particular story, but it is evident he had read THE KINGDOM OF MADISON. He had also read the book by Phillip Shaw Paludan (discussed below), as he cited Paludan's work numerous times.



Wow, what a great story to include in a genealogy work-to be preserved for future generations! After all, it is included in a couple of well known author's books. It must be true! But now after finding this exciting piece of information, we do a little diggin', and find a few other very important bits of information.



The story of Nance and her boys is retold by Phillip Shaw Paludan in his 1981 book, VICTIMS: A TRUE STORY OF THE CIVIL WAR. Paludan lists his source: "Wellman, Kingdom of Madison, 88-89, 94-95; story repeated during interview April 4, 1977, by Mrs. Shelton, who insists that Nance Franklin was not the Confederate sympathizer that Wellman says she was." Ahhhh-haaa! Mrs. Shelton gives us the first indication that our story may not be accurate!



Nancy Franklin filed for a pension in 1875. Her pension file is a great source of information, and proves Mrs. Shelton to be correct. The following information is gleaned from her pension application to the United States government:

Nancy was first married to Drury Norton. Drury died, and about five years before the war, she married George Franklin. Nancy's sons were by Drury Norton, so they were Nortons, not Franklins. Nancy says, "Bayliss, James, and Josiah were killed by the Rebels sometime in Sept 1864." She also states, ".... they were soldiers in the U. S. Army. Bayliss and James belonged to Co. E 2d N.C. Mtd. Infy. Josiah belonged to Co. G, 3d N.C. Mtd. Infy. This is as near as I can remember. They were killed while visiting me, in Township No. Madison Co., N.C. by the Rebels, who surprized them. I heard the shooting and I saw them after they were dead. They were all buried in one grave without a coffin. I did not see them actually shot down. I couldn't see it done."

The pension office agent had the following to say about Nancy Franklin: "Nancy Franklin is perhaps one of the most remarkable women of the war. If one half of the stories told about her are true she must have been a real heroine. There can be no question raised as to her loyalty to the Union during all the war. After her three sons were murdered she became desperate and was one of the most efficient spies in the whole Union Army. She is a thoroughly immoral woman however and is certainly a hard case."



Service records of Balus, James, and Josiah verify that they were in the United States Army, as stated above. Balus could have also been the Balis Norton who served in the 29th North Carolina Infantry (Confederate), previous to serving in the Union Army.



Now which versions of the story are true???? Were the Norton boys Confederate or Union soldiers? Did someone really shoot at Nancy and "snip a lock of her flying hair"? I'll place my bet on the documented evidence from the pension file and service records; not on "widespread and consistent" oral tradition--even though published in at least 3 books. Thank you Mr. Paludan and Mrs. Shelton for leading us to question those published accounts!



WHEN YOU FIND A GREAT STORY, DO A LITTLE MORE DIGGIN'. THE STORY MAY CHANGE.



© Dan Slagle, 2004
 
Some of Slagle's claims have always seemed exaggerated to me, though I must admit I cant remember now which ones I was suspicious of! :D

Will have to track down my notes.

By the way, welcome Madisonman! I've been away a few weeks, so you're a new face. But I'm always pleased to see all the folks on here interested in western North Carolina during the war. :smile:
Zella, thanks for the welcome. I'd be interested in your suspicions of Slagle's claims. Maybe I can help convince you. He is me!
 
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